(PHOENIX) -- A Phoenix pool repairman went beyond the call of duty when he spotted a small prairie dog floating in a backyard pool.

He pulled him out and started giving the little guy CPR.

"He looked like he needed help, and I figured he hadn't been in there for very long," said Rick Gruber, who rescued a prairie dog. "I figured I could try to pull him out and try to see if I could try to pull him out and bring him back to life because there was still a chance he hadn't been in there for maybe a minute."

You can see here, Gruber put the prairie dog over a piece of PVC pipe and started gently squeezing its sides to get it to spit out the water it had swallowed.

After a few minutes, the little rodent let out a hiccup -- and started to breathe.

Gruber stayed with him for about an hour until it was up and moving - watching as it scurried back into the desert.